In the lead up to World Health Day on April 7th, STEPNOW (a global grassroots spinal cord injury network) is sending an appeal to the World Health Organization (WHO) to support all research for a cure for paralysis. Members of Stepnow - paraplegics, tetraplegics and their families from over 40 countries - are living proof that spinal cord injuries are a global health concern of enormous proportions with equally enormous medical, social and economic implications.
Prevention of injuries can only ever tackle a fraction of the problem, whereas a cure could in the future help everyone. Without a cure, the outlook for the millions of spinal cord injured worldwide is a punishing life sentence of paralysis with ever-threatening complications. The incidence of spinal cord injury will continue to increase as numbers rise in developing countries – whether the cause is accident, other trauma, infection or congenital. In fact, in the case of road traffic accidents where airbags and better paramedic attention have improved rates of survival, they have likewise contributed to an increase in the number of tetraplegics, showing sadly that safety/prevention cannot be the only approach when addressing spinal cord injury. The only sure way of curbing the future numbers of victims and helping those millions already paralyzed is to get fully behind research in stem cell and regenerative therapies aimed at finding a cure for paralysis. Stepnow appeals to the WHO to take the lead in doing just that, by utilizing its vast network in support of this scientific progress in a coordinated effort to optimize results.
Envisage a future headline: ‘WHO declares a cure for paralysis has been found’.
for further information contact:
info@stepnow.org
www.stepnow.org
Stand Together to End Paralysis now!
